Despite retirement, Trevor Lewis remains committed to the DEEP

Trevor Lewis has vacated his post as the county’s public works director before the Dufferin Eco Energy Park (DEEP) is up and running, but he plans to stick around in a consulting role to help see it through.

“It’s like playing dominoes. You’re filling the gaps here or there with the hopes at some point you can hit the last one or the first one, and down they all fall,” Lewis said. “I don’t think we’re quite there yet. There are still a couple gaps.”

In August of 2010, Dufferin’s eight lower-tier municipalities agreed to upload responsibilities for waste collection to the county as of Jan. 1.

The county sought control over all household garbage to feed a proposed energy-from-waste (EFW) facility at the DEEP site in Grand Valley.

Those plans won’t come to fruition under Lewis’ helm, as he is set to officially retire at the end of February. Scott Burns, who has worked in Dufferin’s public works department since September of 2011, has been appointed Lewis’ replacement effective as of Jan. 1.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity and am glad to be working with such an excellent team,” Burns said in a statement provided to The Banner. “I wish Trevor the very best in his retirement and look forward to staying in touch.”

On that note, Lewis doesn’t plan to go too far. Rather than drop the DEEP project — he called it one of the more challenging issues during his eight years here — the 61-year-old Orangeville resident plans to serve in a consulting role and help steer the plans along.

When asked whether he thinks he’ll still be alive when the DEEP is up and running, Lewis is confident he will.

He is also confident Navitus Plasma Inc. will build and operate an EFW facility at the DEEP site some day, but only time will tell.

“There seem to be a number of little hurdles. Suddenly you put them all together and it’s a bigger hurdle,” Lewis said. “There are a number of pokers in the fire. ... One for finances, and a number for supplying us waste.”

While Lewis isn’t going to miss the daily grind of public service, he’ll miss the people he has worked with. One thing he won’t miss is trying to convince county council to invest in road infrastructure though.

Ideally, county staff would like to finish about 18 kms in road projects each year. Like a broken record, Lewis has seen that number shaved down during budget talks time and time again.

“I don’t think we’ve ever hit the 18 kms that you hear. I’m thinking the 18 kms of road to do every year might be on the light side,” he noted. “I’m making the technical decision. (Council is) making the political decision.”

For the moment, Lewis plans to continue residing in Orangeville. How long he and his wife remain here will likely depend on where his two daughters decide to live in the future though.

“I’ve enjoyed the eight years that I’ve been with the county,” Lewis added. “I hope the relationship can continue as we continue to work on the DEEP project.”